Abbo on Leicester Road Turnaround
Hinckley AFC Manager Carl Abbott said he hopes his side’s second half display against Leicester Road can be ‘a turning point’ in their season.
From being 2-0 down at half time, goals from Luke Richards and Sean Williams brought AFC level after Leicester Road’s Will Highland was sent off.
And Richards’ dramatic stoppage time winner gave Hinckley all three points.
Speaking after the game, Abbott said: ‘We were on top before the sending off, let’s have it right, so that gives you more of an opportunity. Obviously I was disappointed to see the penalty (from Marco Adaggio) go over the bar but there was certainly still enough time in the game for us to show our grit and determination.
‘We do have it in us to pull a result back and hopefully that’ll be the turning point in our season.’
Hinckley were slow to get off the mark and allowed their visitors to have too much of the ball before half time, but the former Wolves Casuals boss felt his side still had opportunities in the first 45 minutes.
‘It was a real game of two halves. We weren’t happy with the first half, there was some really sloppy play in letting them go into a two goal lead and they were really poor goals to concede.
‘All our problems were of our own making, and despite maybe territorially dominating and having some really good pockets of play, looking the stronger and more mature side, we allowed them to sucker punch us a couple of times.
‘In the first half we were soft-centred and too easy to counter, too easy to break on and too easy to carve through. Football’s not just about going in one direction and that’s what we said at half time.
‘In the second half we had a little bit more steel, we were good in both directions and we were good at turning the ball around and counter attacking.’
Abbott introduced JJ Melligan from the substitutes’ bench in the second half, and he felt that the Irishman, along with Williams and Marcus Jackson down Hinckley’s right, were influential in the turnaround. He said that the trio were ‘outstanding’ and ‘the driving force behind our second half.’
Special praise, though, was reserved for his captain Richards.
‘Luke Richards is the heart and soul of the football club. When I got the job at the start of last season I found a lot of ex-Hinckley United players. No-one wanted to come and play for us but Luke Richards did.
‘He was the first one to say: “I’m in” and he’s Hinckley through and through. It’s fitting that he should wrap that game up for us.’
Despite all the off-field issues between the two clubs, Abbott also spoke highly of Leicester Road’s players and management.
‘They (Leicester Road) have got a young group that’s been allowed to grow together and they’re a fantastic set of players. I went into their dressing room after the game, and despite all the things that are said between the clubs, that group of players are a real credit to their manager.
‘Our boys are a collection of good non-league players who have come together rather than a team that’s grown together. They had nothing to lose coming into the game really, but we had everything to lose and nothing to gain.
‘It was a tough game for us.’
